red moscow

Chapter 2759

After counting the number of people, they found that Sergeant Zub was missing. Sokov asked angrily, "Where the hell is Sergeant Zub? Shouldn't the second group of soldiers he led have arrived here long ago?"

Seeing Sokov getting angry, Chul smiled and explained: "Comrade Captain, I'm sorry, I didn't see Sergeant Zub. Maybe he was unfortunately injured when the Germans fired machine guns, and he fell behind."

"That's impossible." Sokov shook his head and said, "When I gave the order to quickly cross the open area, I saw him. He showed no signs of injury at all."

"Lieutenant Konstantin," Sokov called Konstantin to him and ordered him with a stern face, "You take people to find Sergeant Zub immediately. I want to see him alive or dead. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Comrade Captain," Constantine answered quickly and loudly, "I'll take someone to look for him right away."

"What's going on?" Vlasov and Colonel Del came over and asked curiously, "What happened here?"

"A soldier is missing." Sokov replied quickly: "I have arranged for someone to look for him."

Upon learning that a soldier was missing, Vlasov did not say anything, but Colonel Del looked at his watch and said anxiously: "Captain Sokov, the gunshots just now may have alerted the enemy nearby. If we don't move quickly, I'm afraid we will be entangled by the enemy."

While Sokov was thinking about how to reply to Colonel Del, Vlasov said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, the enemy hasn't arrived yet. If we lose our soldier, he may fall into the hands of the enemy. If he is a strong soldier, the enemy will definitely not be able to get anything out of him; but what if he is timid? The whereabouts of all of us may be revealed by him."

Vlasov's words not only shocked Colonel Del, but also scared Sokov into a cold sweat. He thought to himself, yes, if Sergeant Zub was not found, the troops would just leave and the enemy might fall into the hands of the Germans. If Sergeant Zub could not withstand the torture of the Germans and gave out the whereabouts of Vlasov and others, the enemy might mobilize people to hunt them down, and it would be difficult to escape.

With this in mind, Sokov became more determined to find Sergeant Zub. He called Chulxin to his side and told him, "Churxin, take a few people with you to help Lieutenant Constantine and his men find the whereabouts of Sergeant Zub."

Not long after Chulsin's group was sent out, a soldier came running over and excitedly reported to Sokov: "Comrade Captain, we found it. We found Sergeant Zub."

"Where is he?" Sokov asked impatiently.

"Here." The soldier raised his chin and looked back: "Isn't he coming this way?"

Sokov followed the soldier's line of sight and saw Sergeant Zub, who was carrying an MG34 machine gun on his shoulder, with several bullet belts wrapped around his body, and was running towards him with excitement on his face.

"Sergeant Zub," Sokov asked sternly when he saw Zub coming, "Where have you been and why did you fall behind?"

"Comrade Captain, look." Zub raised his hand and patted the MG3 machine gun on his shoulder, and said excitedly: "I took down the machine gun that the Germans mounted on the sidecar of the motorcycle. Maybe it can be used in the next march."

After figuring out that the other party had fallen behind in order to dismantle the machine gun on the motorcycle sidecar, Sokov swallowed back all his reproachful words: "Why didn't you tell me? I thought you had an accident, so I sent two groups of people to look for you."

"I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't think it through. I won't make the same mistake again." After admitting his mistake, Sergeant Zub took off a satchel from his shoulder and said excitedly, "Captain, look, I found this."

Sokov took the bag, opened it and saw an envelope and a folded map inside.

He took out the envelope, opened it, read the contents, and reported to Vlasov: "Comrade Commander, the two German soldiers we just killed should be signalmen delivering letters. This is an order from the German division headquarters to the troops below, asking them to launch a search to prevent our scattered troops from escaping their encirclement."

"I expected this a long time ago." Vlasov nodded and said, "Although the Germans have occupied Kiev, they are still unwilling to give up. They want to annihilate the entire Southwestern Front to reduce the threat they face when they attack Moscow."

Colonel Del took out the map from his bag and unfolded it, with a look of surprise on his face: "Comrade Commander, look, there is actually a map of the Ukrainian region. Now we don't have to worry about getting lost in the forest."

Vlasov quickly came over and asked eagerly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, can you tell where we are now?"

Colonel Del carefully looked at the map in his hand. Although the ground was marked in German, it had no effect on a senior staff officer. Soon he pointed to a place and said to Vlasov: "Comrade Commander, if I am not mistaken, we have arrived in the Lokhvitsa area, not far from Romny."

"Great, this is great." After figuring out where he was, Vlasov also became excited: "As long as we know our approximate location now, we don't have to worry about getting lost in this damn forest."

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Colonel Del nodded and said, "Although we don't have a compass, we can rely on the soldiers who have jungle life experience to lead the way. I believe it won't take long for us to get out of this forest and enter the Romne area."

When Vlasov heard Colonel Del say that they were about to enter the Romny region, he showed a melancholy look on his face. Seeing this, Military Commissar Nikolsky, who had just walked over, couldn't help asking, "Comrade Commander, what are you worried about? Are you afraid that the enemy has already occupied the Romny region?"

Vlasov looked up at Nikolsky, nodded slowly, and said in a serious tone: "Comrade Military Commissar, you are right. I am worried that Romny has fallen into the hands of the Germans. You know, the troops attacking Kiev this time are not only from the German Southern Army Group in the west, but also from the German Central Army Group in the north. Our Southwestern Front was attacked from both sides by the enemy, so the loss of Romny is entirely possible."

"Then what should we do?" Colonel Del asked Vlasov: "Send someone to conduct reconnaissance in the Romny area?"

"I don't think it's appropriate." Vlasov rejected Colonel Del's proposal without hesitation: "You know, we are constantly marching in the forest. Even if we send out a reconnaissance team, I'm afraid they won't be able to find our trace when they return. Therefore, sending out a reconnaissance team is unwise."

"What should we do?" Seeing that Vlasov rejected his proposal, Colonel Del's face was full of anxiety. "Comrade Commander, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov stepped forward and reminded them, "When we left this time, we brought a radio with us. Why not contact our superiors to see if they can provide us with useful information."

"The front headquarters has been annihilated by the Germans, and the rest of the troops have been dispersed." But Colonel Del shook his head and said, "Who should we contact?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov replied, "Although the front headquarters has been annihilated by the Germans under the enemy's attack, I guess the Supreme Command will definitely not ignore the Southwestern Front. I believe they will soon form a new headquarters and appoint a highly respected commander to re-command this force."

Vlasov took a cigarette from the box and handed it to Sokov, then took one himself.

Sokov wants to give him some.

Vlasov did not allow this, but struck a match and lit it himself.

"Captain Sokov, do you want us to contact the new front headquarters?"

"Yes." Sokov nodded and said, "If we want to return to our defense zone safely, the best way is to get in touch with the front headquarters and confirm the areas controlled by the enemy and us, so that we can escape the encirclement."

Vlasov took two long puffs of his cigarette, threw it on the ground, and then ordered Colonel Del: "Chief of Staff, let the communications staff contact the front headquarters."

Ten minutes later, the radio station with the antenna set up began to send telegrams to the front headquarters.

Soon, the New Front Command received the radio signal from the 37th Army.

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A staff officer handed the telegram he had just received to the chief of staff, "Comrade Chief of Staff, this is a radio call we just received. After repeated confirmation, it is the radio station of General Vlasov's 37th Army."

Timoshenko, who was talking to Khrushchev, heard the voice of the staff officer and immediately stopped talking. He walked over and asked, "What did you say? You received a radio signal from Vlasov. Is this true?"

"Yes, Comrade Marshal," the staff officer hurriedly reported to Timoshenko respectfully, "We have confirmed repeatedly that it is indeed the radio signal of General Vlasov's troops."

“Ask them where they are today.”

"Wait a minute." Khrushchev came over and said to the staff officer, "Send them a telegram and ask what their communication code is." In order to dispel Timoshenko's doubts, he took the initiative to explain, "Comrade Marshal, the 37th Army no longer exists. Don't you find it suspicious that a radio station belonging to the army suddenly appeared at this moment?"

Timoshenko thought Khrushchev's words made sense, and he did not rule out the possibility that the enemy would use the captured radio station to do something. He quickly ordered his staff: "Follow what the military comrade said, send them a telegram and ask them to report the communication code."

A few minutes later, the communications staff came over again to report: "Comrade Marshal, the other party has sent the communication code. After repeated verification, it can be confirmed that it is indeed the radio station belonging to the 37th Army."

The staff officer's words made Timoshenko and Khrushchev breathe a sigh of relief: "Thank God, we finally got in touch with them."

Timoshenko pointed to his staff officer and ordered him: "Send a telegram to Vlasov immediately and ask where they are."

After the staff officer left, Timoshenko rubbed his hands excitedly and said repeatedly: "Great, this is really great. Now that I know the whereabouts of General Vlasov, I don't have to worry when Comrade Stalin asks about it."

"Comrade Marshal, don't be too happy too soon." Khrushchev reminded Timoshenko: "At present, we can only prove that the radio station that contacted us belongs to the 37th Army Command. But whether Vlasov followed this radio station is still an unknown. Even if General Vlasov did follow this radio station, whether they can escape the German encirclement is also a headache."

Timoshenko scratched his big bald head and said irritably: "Comrade Military Commissar, you are right. All we can confirm now is that this radio belongs to the 37th Army Headquarters. It is still unknown whether Vlasov is still alive." After saying this, he turned his head and looked at the location of the radio, wanting to see if the communications staff officer had received a call back from the other party.

"Comrade Marshal, don't worry." Seeing Timoshenko's panic, Khrushchev comforted him, "I'm afraid it will take some time before we receive a call back from the other party. Let's study first, if Vlasov really follows this radio, what measures should we take to rescue him from the German encirclement."

Timoshenko looked at Khrushchev and asked, "Comrade Military Commissar, do you have any good ideas?"

"In addition to sending troops from the front to pick him up, there is another way," Khrushchev said, "that is to find Vlasov's exact location and send a plane to pick him up."

Hearing Khrushchev's proposal, Timoshenko showed a thoughtful expression on his face: "Comrade Military Commissar, do you think Vlasov will leave on the plane I sent to pick him up? You know, Petravsky refused to take the plane I sent to leave the encirclement, and unfortunately died in the breakout operation."

Khrushchev understood that the Petrovsky mentioned by Timoshenko was the commander of the 63rd Infantry Army. Because of his good results in the Belarus region and the recovery of many cities occupied by the German army, Stalin promoted him from colonel to lieutenant general. Later, the unit was surrounded by the German army. In order to protect Petrovsky, Timoshenko, the commander of the Western Front at the time, discussed with Zhukov, the representative of the headquarters, and decided to appoint Petrovsky as the commander of the 22nd Army and sent a plane to pick him up.

Unexpectedly, after receiving the order, Petravsky did not evacuate with the plane sent by Timoshenko, but only let the medical staff take some of the seriously injured soldiers to leave the encirclement of the German army by plane. He himself took up his rifle and led the officers and soldiers to break through the encirclement, but unfortunately he was shot and killed in the battle.

When Khrushchev heard Timoshenko mention Petravsky, he could not help but sigh and said, "We have already sacrificed General Petravsky. We cannot sacrifice another General Vlasov. This is a huge loss for our troops. Once Vlasov's location is confirmed, we must send a plane to pick him up. In case he is unwilling to retreat with the plane, it is best for an important commander to go and persuade him."

(End of this chapter)